Safeguarding

The following statement was agreed by our elders and trustees on 23rd March 2023.

At Life Church Beccles, we believe that every person is made in the image of God with meaning, value, dignity, worth and purpose.  Therefore, it is important to us to honour every person regardless of distinctions of age, gender, ethnicity or capability. As a leadership team we take this responsibility seriously as laid out in our Safeguarding Policy, and by forming a team that serves to ensure the constant valuing, protection and well-being of children and adults with care and support needs. We recognise that safeguarding children, young people and adults is everyone’s responsibility.

  • We take seriously our responsibility to help prevent abuse of any person and to report any abuse we discover or suspect.

  • We believe all adults should enjoy and have access to every aspect of the life of our church and that every child should be valued, safe and happy. We want to make sure that children we have contact with know this and are empowered to tell us if they are experiencing harm.

  • We undertake to exercise proper care in the appointment and selection of those who will work on behalf of Life Church Beccles, with children and adults with care and support needs.

We are committed to:

  • Following statutory and specialist guidelines in relation to safeguarding and will ensure that all our workers work within the agreed procedure of our safeguarding policy; supporting, resourcing and training them in this work.

  • Implementing the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005, Equality Act 2010 and all other relevant legislation, including supporting those in our church who have been affected by abuse.

  • Ensuring that we are keeping up to date with national and local developments relating to safeguarding.

We recognise that:

  • Children’s Social Services has lead responsibility for investigating all allegations or suspicions of abuse where there are concerns about a child and Adult Social Care has lead responsibility for investigating all allegations or suspicions of abuse where there are concerns about an adult with care and support needs.

  • Where an allegation suggests that a criminal offence may have been committed, we are required to contact the police as a matter of urgency.

We will review this statement and our policy annually.

Our Safeguarding Team

Elder with responsibility for Safeguarding:
James Wilson

Trustee with responsibility for Safeguarding:
Roger Yaxley

Safeguarding Coordinator:
Julian Fabian 07745 602363

Reporting Concerns

If you have any safeguarding concerns for a child or adult, then please contact Julian or Roger, who are our safeguarding Leads.

A copy of the full policy is available from our Safeguarding Team or by contacting us:

Tel: 01502 558501 (Leave a message)
Email address: safeguarding@lifechurchbeccles.org